Open Letter to Lesley Riddoch of Politics from a Scottish Perspective podcast, episode 921: https://lesleyriddoch.com/podcast

Dear Lesley

With the greatest, genuine, respect, I must protest your recent, unnecessarily heated and, unusually, ill-informed, characterisation of my extensive, evidence-based research into ferry services across the developed world, without, it seems, much background research into the 50 plus reports on my blog, most well before AI help I should add.

I must also protest your personal naming of me rather than the blog. I get more hate on this topic than any other, strangely, and wonder if I’d be safe on a bike round Cumbrae now.

Coincidentally, it was, I feel sure, the same businessman and self-appointed ferry spokesperson from Mull whom you defended, several years ago, who first prompted my investigations with an astonishing claim, revealing lack of actual knowledge, on Radio Scotland, along the lines of ‘CalMac may be the worst ferry service in the world (!) and they should get out and find out how others have done it.’

I have.

In the light of the then current media feeding frenzy on CalMac and CMAL, still frenzied today, and my immediate empathy for the crews, victims of another proxy war against the Scottish Government, the SNP and the Yes movement. This is similar to those we see on health, education and other public services, despite them all demonstrably performing better than elsewhere. I was thus motivated to do just what the man from Mull suggested.

As hopefully you do, I recognise in the ‘ferry fiasco’ narrative a classic moral panic based on media amplification leading to an irrational but popular belief in a largely socially constructed world, just as we have seen with youth subcultures from mods through hippies and punks to hip hop, all apparently foreboding the end of civilisation. The ‘ferry fiasco’, is no different from the ‘housing crisis’, the ‘SNP soft touch on crime’, the ‘QEUH scandal’, the Covid hospital discharge deaths’, ‘Trans murderers’ or ‘SNP corruption’ panics.Rare, misunderstood, phenomena are amplified by hacks to make money regardless of the tragic costs for individuals caught up in the feeding frenzy.

As you point out, I have looked at comparable archipelago services such as those in Washington State, USA and in British Columbia, Canada, as well as those in the Channel Islands, Isle of Wight, Greece and New Zealand. What I found there was far greater unhappiness than in Scotland, with exceedingly high prices, unreliability, lack of inclusiveness (only larger islands served), sometimes danger and violence and often poor hygiene. Every one of these services, operates in warmer and crucially less stormy seas than CalMac does. I can exemplify and source all of these claims in my blog, but you will understand if I leave one of your team to do the search and collation.

You made two specific points which do need answering directly.

You choose Norway and set their service against CalMac.

First, Washington State and British Columbia are much more comparable to the West of Scotland in geography and demographics, though richer and less windy, but Norway, really? Norway has $2 trillion in the bank, nearly $400 000 per citizen. Scotland is chained to a huge population next door that has neither fed nor heated itself for centuries and, consequently, has a national debt of $3.75 trillion, $56 000 per citizen, including for every Scot. I’d be amazed given that if their ferry service was not world-beating. You suggest the devolved system in Norway works better. Might the generous block grants, that we could only dream of be the reason? Split up the Scottish block grant of £370 million and watch as the regions go all cautious, build smaller local boats for local people and the summertime tourists queues extend beyond sight.

Secondly, ‘islanders’, who are they and what do they want?

We don’t know. All we do know is what the media tell us, based on the very small number of opposition MSPs or MPS and a self-appointed representative with business interests, they select for us to hear. We might know, if we looked, that large sample public domain satisfaction surveys have levels of satisfaction in the 80 to 90% range, well above all other public services. Done by CalMac, I know, but if you don’t trust them do an FOI and insist on seeing the data and the methods. No journalist ever has and I wonder why.

Have a look at the Scottish ferry subsidy, paid for by all of us, and ask AI to compare it with any other ferry service then see one reason why it’s so bloody cheap here. Have a look at the Road Equivalent Tariff (RET) paid for by all of us, in reduced tax revenue, which has transformed the wealth of the islands since 2009. Look at the local government block grants, paid for by all of us, with all of the island and west coast regions receiving sometimes near twice the amount per capita that some mainland areas marked by unemployment, despoiled landscapes, limited public transport, poverty, ill health and crime, get.

Is it possible, that if the ordinary islander knew all of this, if the media would ever tell them, we might find that they really do appreciate the help?

I could go on but I’ll stop here.

Still, nevertheless, a strong admirer of your writing, filmmaking and speaking,

John Robertson

Professor of Media Politics and Faculty Research Ethics Chair (rtd)

Footnote – Don’t accept the lazy luddite view that AI will always tell you what you want. This old guy (75 soon) has been using it every day as a powerful tool, only that. If you ask open, not leading, questions on topics where there is official published checkable data that it can use, on health, education, economy or crime for example, it will answer more honestly with sources than many humans would. My experience, also, is that in these areas, it will stand its ground when you probe it for an answer closer to what you had hoped for.